Why Bendigo Hospital deserves Victoria’s top property honour
From smart robots to sustainable gardens – find out how state-of-the-art design supports world-class care at the $630 million Bendigo Hospital, Victoria’s Development of the Year for 2018.
Lendlease was presented with the Property Council of Australia’s Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Victorian Development of the Year award at a cocktail reception last week.
The Bendigo Hospital Project is the largest regional hospital development in Victoria.
The Exemplar Health Consortium, consisting of Capella Capital, Lendlease, Spotless and Siemens, completed stage one in January 2017. Stage two is scheduled for completion in mid-2018.
The new facility features 372 inpatient beds, 72 same-day beds, 11 new operating theatres, an integrated cancer centre and an 80-bed psychiatry services facility including a parent-infant unit. Stage two will feature a helipad, link-bridge and a multi-deck carpark.
Victoria’s minister for health, Jill Hennessy, says the new hospital is a “shining example of innovative, world-class hospital design”.
According to the Property Council’s interim executive director, Michael Zorbas, the Bendigo Hospital “showcases the best of government and industry partnership”.
“The project impressed the judges with high technology, such as delivery robots, and natural elements such as tranquil gardens that can be enjoyed by both patients and visitors.”
For example, the hospital’s roof is home to a 200-kilowatt solar array made up of 770 solar panels. This generates around 285,000 kilowatt-hours of clean energy each year, and cuts approximately 300,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
High technology is also being employed to ease the load of labour intensive tasks around the hospital. A fleet of automated guided vehicles, or AGVs, are on a 24-hour ‘pick-up and deliver’ mission, ensuring staff members focus on their specialist tasks without the need for heavy lifting. Key dispatches include linen, sterile supplies and waste.
“The design cleverly incorporates heritage gems, such as the Anne Caudle Centre, the old concert hall and old lying-in hospital, that serve as an important link to the past,” Zorbas adds.
Lendlease’s general manager in Victoria, Bill Alexandrakis, General Manager of Lendlease’s Victorian business says working on the project “has been an enormous privilege”, which has “made a meaningful and lasting contribution to the community”.
The RLB Victorian Development of the Year award is part of the national 2018 Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards program.
The Bendigo Hospital is also vying for the Woods Bagot Award for Best Public Building at the national awards, which will be held in Sydney on Friday 11 May.